Many different shapes and applications exist for lighting fixtures, and fixtures of a general shape/application can have several different lamps with various power dissipations, voltages, photometrics, radiation patterns, etc. One or more different lamp types can be used in a single lighting fixture. Lighting fixture housings may be optimized for a given application by adapting the shape and/or location of reflectors, diffusers, baffles, louvers, shades, shields, and other components for achieving the desired illumination within electrical, heat, and other parameters for the particular installation.
Lighting fixtures adapted to be recessed into a wall, such as by being disposed above a ceiling, are known. Such recessed lighting fixtures may have a dome shaped reflector housing or can be designed for securing one or more sockets for corresponding lamps including compact fluorescent, incandescent, HID, quartz, and other types. A particular lamp may need a ballast transformer or the like for supplying the lamp with necessary voltage. Conventional recessed lighting fixtures typically position the reflector housing, transformer, electrical junction box, and any other associated components on a frame or similar structure to be installed above the ceiling. A reflective insert is often inserted, from below, into the reflector housing so that a reflector extends from a position proximate the lamp to a position proximate the plane of the ceiling, thereby reflecting the light downward into a room. Such a reflective insert may also include a transparent or translucent lens.
A traditional recessed lighting fixture, as is typical for most lighting fixtures, requires periodic maintenance, such as relamping when a lamp is burned-out, replacing a ballast, accessing a junction box, replacing a socket, replacing a thermal protector, investigating the cause of a shutoff in a system having thermal protection and/or relays, etc. Although recessed lighting fixtures typically provide easy access for relamping from a position below the ceiling, any other maintenance or repair typically requires a service person to gain access to lighting fixture space above the ceiling. In such a case, there may be no problem if the recessed lighting fixture is part of a suspended ceiling. However, a recessed lighting fixture may be inaccessible from above, such as when the fixture is part of a drywalled or similar ceiling, or when there is no easy access in a suspended ceiling. A service person in such a conventional situation may then be required to spend a great deal of time in disassembling the fixture from below, attempting to crawl through an attic (if available), cutting through the drywall, or to perform other tasks. Besides being time consuming, such servicing may cause damage to the recessed lighting fixture, the ceiling, and/or other adjacent structure or articles.